Daily Archives: November 18, 2014

Daily Archives: November 18, 2014

One of Big Food’s tried-and-true strategies to drive sales is to create recipes that call for use of their products. Most larger food companies have a team of home economists designing these recipes. Sometimes contests like The Pillsbury Bake-Off ask consumers to share recipes.

These days even bloggers are getting in on the action by designing “sponsored” recipes. But every so often one of these recipes literally becomes so profitable it’s what industry insiders call a “signature recipe.”

If you venture into a grocery store this time of year you can start to see them stacked high. Like red and white mountains towering from the supermarket shelves, these cans adorn end-of-aisle displays and pop up across the store. Yes, it’s the American processed food classic—Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Condensed Soup.

Founded in 1869 the Campbell’s Soup Company has become an icon of the packaged food industry. It’s a surprise to some, but its famous condensed soups weren’t invented until 1897. When I ran the Progresso Soup business, Campbell’s was the 800-pound gorilla of the soup aisle. Yes, Progresso’s adult soup strategy carved out a bigger slice of the category, but Campbell’s still called the shots. Its condensed recipe soups were an American staple and a “cash cow” for Campbell’s and grocers alike.

But when you take a closer look at the condensed Cream of Mushroom soup label, it’s hard to feel very good about this popular item.

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